Hello There

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Behold, the first fire of the year! Now, keep in mind, I've just moved to the Pacific Northwest from Texas. Back home, it stays in the 80's all the way through October. In my new home, however, it's chilly, windy, and grey......in other words, just how Autumn SHOULD be. We've also been getting quite a bit of rain. My new place does not have central air, and I don't like to use the heater anyway, so I've been bundled up under blankets and wrapped in sweaters. Tonight, we made the first of what is sure to be many winter fires. I'm very much looking forward to spending long hours in front of the fireplace with a book and a good cup of hot tea!

In other news, my Hallowe'en preparations are coming along. Despite a few personal setbacks, I'm still quite excited about the holiday. I'm also pleased to report that my sprained ankle/foot is doing a bit better; it's still pretty sore, but I can put my weight on it now.

Monday, October 15, 2012

It's been rainy, dark, and chilly here all week which of course has meant some time spent indoors. Yesterday, while my housemate was away, I decided to make a cup of tea as I needed a bit of a pick-me-up. So, I headed down towards the kitchen. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but about 4-5 steps up from the first floor something went wrong and I fell down the stairs. I have a memory of feeling "nothing" beneath my feet, and the next thing I knew I was laying on my right side on the hardwood floor. I knew immediately that I was injured; my right leg and left foot were in a lot of pain, and my right arm was hurting from where I had landed on it. My cell phone had come out of my pocket, went flying, and smashed to bits on the floor. I managed to get up, gather the pieces, and hopped back up to my bedroom in a daze.

At first I thought that maybe I'd just bruised something, but my right foot was very tender and as the hours went on it began to swell. I had a very rough night and got little sleep because the pain has continued to worsen. When my housemate wakes up he's going to take my to the ER for x-rays. I probably should have gone last night, but I did not fancy waiting hours in the lobby for a doctor and anyway, I didn't realize it was as bad as it was. I'm afraid my right foot may be broken; at the very least, it's extremely painful and I am not able to put any weight on it at all. This could not have come at a worse time; Hallowe'en is my favourite holiday, this is my first autumn season in my new Pacific Northwest home, and I have a Hallowe'en party scheduled at home in a bit over a week. While I'm very grateful that I wasn't hurt worse or even killed by my fall (and it was a pretty long one) I'm also angry at myself for managing to fall down the stairs in the first place. I put my phone back together, and though it still works it's going to have to be replaced.

So, I hope all of my readers will send me healing thoughts. I simply cannot bear to be unable to walk, and I'm hoping the doctors will be able to put my right pretty quickly. I'll update this once I get back from the hospital and get an accurate diagnosis.

Update: I've been to the emergency room and back. After some x-rays they determined that I did not break any bones. However, I've sprained my foot and ankle rather badly. I have to wear a special boot brace and be on crutches for a few weeks at least. Apparently, a sprain in this area can hurt even more than a break. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I heal up quickly.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Today, I went with a friend and visited the historical cemetery located not far from my new home. The graves date back to not much earlier than the mid 1850s, but the place has an aura of history about it that makes it captivating. It was a perfect Fall day, and the rays of the setting sun really caught on the trees and gave the graveyard an otherworldly glow. It wasn't hard to feel the presence of the Spirit World.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

October is finally upon us, and Hallowe'en approaches. This will be my first Hallows in my new home, and I am quite excited about it. When I still lived in Texas, October was likely to be hot and much the same as summer. In my new Pacific Northwest home, however, it's definitely Autumn now. The days are cool, the nights chilly, and the trees are changing to beautiful shades of red and gold and yellow.

Oregon is well known for its farming, and every year it's possible to go and pick your own fruit at some of the local farms. It's past the season for blackberries and blueberries, but it's just the time for pumpkins. I'm going to be visiting a local farm soon where you can pick your own pumpkins, visit a corn maze, and do all kinds of Hallowe'en related activities. I also need to get my ancestor altar up and running; unfortunately, I don't have a lot of space in my new bedroom, and as I share my house with non-magical people I am limited as to where I can work.

I've added a picture of the mountains and low-hanging clouds that I took during my trip to the Tillamook cheese factory last week. I'll be posting more about that later. I hope you enjoy, and I hope that all of my readers are having a good Fall so far.